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Proceedings of the fourth international conference on ionization phenomena in gases
soox
REWEWS
699
N. ROBERT NILSSON (Editor) Proceedings o] the Fourth International Con]erence on Ionization Phenomena in Gases. (North-Holland Publishing Company, A m s t e r d a m 1960. Vol. I and II, 1210 p. Glds. 130.--) It is a great pleasure for one who has participated in the F o u r t h Ionization Conference in Uppsala in A u g u s t 1959 t h a t proceedings from the conference h a v e been printed so quickly a n d nicely. The two volumes contain nearly all the papers (more t h a n 200) given a t t h e conference. The papers are placed in subject order as t h e y were presented at the conference. T h e y are divided in four m a i n subject groups, namely, in Volume I: 1) F u n d a m e n t a l Processes in Gas Discharges, a n d 2) Different types of Discharges and Applications, and in Volume II: 3) Theoretical a n d Experimental Studies in P l a s m a Physics, and 4) Production, Confinement a n d H e a t i n g of Plasmas. W i t h i n these four groups a further subject division is made. This division of the papers makes it v e r y easy to find the papers in which one is interested. As the s t a n d a r d of the papers is very high, the books are very useful for people working in t h a t branch of physics. Torkil Hesselberg Jensen
J. S. LEVINGER, Nuclear Photo-Disintegration (Oxford University Press, 1960. 144 pages, 15s.) The s t u d e n t desiring to learn about photonuclear reactions will find a solid and sensiblypresented exposition of the subject here. The a u t h o r quite rightly begins b y stressing the importance of s u m rules a n d other model-independent features. This is fortunate, because t h e models discussed in Chapter V and the reaction m e c h a n i s m s in Chapter VI are now understood m u c h better t h a n a t the t i m e the book was written. W i t h respect to Chapter V, I could never share the a u t h o r ' s e q u a n i m i t y towards different nuclear models, feeling t h a t there m u s t be one model more completely t r u t h f u l t h a n the others, t h a t one should love best of all. Recent work on the particle-hole interaction has moved, I feel, towards s u c h a model and has shown t h a t more or less equal m i x t u r e s of the various models proposed are contained in the giant dipole state, although it is closest to the p l a s m a oscillation of Ferentz, Gell-l~Iann a n d Pines, skipped over lightly on page 88. As inevitable in a n y rapidly progressing subject there have been m a n y developments both experimental and theoretical since this book was p u t into press. On the experimental side, exciting work on p h o t o n scattering by deformed nuclei has been carried o u t by Fuller and Hayward, a t the Bureau of S t a n d a r d s a n d theoretical analyses h a v e been m a d e b y Baldin and coworkers in Moscow. In general, experimental work has progressed greatly in the accuracy with which q u a n t i t a t i v e m e a s u r e m e n t s h a v e been carrie1 out. Because of the m a n y recent developments, the last p a r t of the book was, therefore, o u t d a t e d before it appeared. However, I believe t h a t t h e first four chapters will remain a classic on the subject for some time. After the above critical remarks, it is only fair to say that, as a whole, the book is b y far the best t r e a t m e n t in print on the subject. G. E. Brown
REWEWS
699
N. ROBERT NILSSON (Editor) Proceedings o] the Fourth International Con]erence on Ionization Phenomena in Gases. (North-Holland Publishing Company, A m s t e r d a m 1960. Vol. I and II, 1210 p. Glds. 130.--) It is a great pleasure for one who has participated in the F o u r t h Ionization Conference in Uppsala in A u g u s t 1959 t h a t proceedings from the conference h a v e been printed so quickly a n d nicely. The two volumes contain nearly all the papers (more t h a n 200) given a t t h e conference. The papers are placed in subject order as t h e y were presented at the conference. T h e y are divided in four m a i n subject groups, namely, in Volume I: 1) F u n d a m e n t a l Processes in Gas Discharges, a n d 2) Different types of Discharges and Applications, and in Volume II: 3) Theoretical a n d Experimental Studies in P l a s m a Physics, and 4) Production, Confinement a n d H e a t i n g of Plasmas. W i t h i n these four groups a further subject division is made. This division of the papers makes it v e r y easy to find the papers in which one is interested. As the s t a n d a r d of the papers is very high, the books are very useful for people working in t h a t branch of physics. Torkil Hesselberg Jensen
J. S. LEVINGER, Nuclear Photo-Disintegration (Oxford University Press, 1960. 144 pages, 15s.) The s t u d e n t desiring to learn about photonuclear reactions will find a solid and sensiblypresented exposition of the subject here. The a u t h o r quite rightly begins b y stressing the importance of s u m rules a n d other model-independent features. This is fortunate, because t h e models discussed in Chapter V and the reaction m e c h a n i s m s in Chapter VI are now understood m u c h better t h a n a t the t i m e the book was written. W i t h respect to Chapter V, I could never share the a u t h o r ' s e q u a n i m i t y towards different nuclear models, feeling t h a t there m u s t be one model more completely t r u t h f u l t h a n the others, t h a t one should love best of all. Recent work on the particle-hole interaction has moved, I feel, towards s u c h a model and has shown t h a t more or less equal m i x t u r e s of the various models proposed are contained in the giant dipole state, although it is closest to the p l a s m a oscillation of Ferentz, Gell-l~Iann a n d Pines, skipped over lightly on page 88. As inevitable in a n y rapidly progressing subject there have been m a n y developments both experimental and theoretical since this book was p u t into press. On the experimental side, exciting work on p h o t o n scattering by deformed nuclei has been carried o u t by Fuller and Hayward, a t the Bureau of S t a n d a r d s a n d theoretical analyses h a v e been m a d e b y Baldin and coworkers in Moscow. In general, experimental work has progressed greatly in the accuracy with which q u a n t i t a t i v e m e a s u r e m e n t s h a v e been carrie1 out. Because of the m a n y recent developments, the last p a r t of the book was, therefore, o u t d a t e d before it appeared. However, I believe t h a t t h e first four chapters will remain a classic on the subject for some time. After the above critical remarks, it is only fair to say that, as a whole, the book is b y far the best t r e a t m e n t in print on the subject. G. E. Brown